Jeff Seo

Number of Years in Research Administration: 10

Institutions: Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Universidad Central del Caribe

Jeff Seo joined Northeastern University in November 2016 as its first Asst. Vice-Provost for Research Compliance, where he is responsible for organizing, developing, managing and monitoring the University’s research compliance programs, including compliance in areas such as grants management, intellectual property, export controls, human and animal subjects research, biological and laboratory safety, research misconduct and financial conflicts of interest. In doing so he has focused on the establishment of the core elements of an effective compliance program as outlined in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, including an emphasis on outreach and education and the maintenance of effective lines of communication. Prior to Northeastern, Jeff served in a similar capacity at Harvard Medical School for eight years as the Executive Director for the Office of Academic and Research Integrity. Jeff emphasizes policies and procedures that are practical, realistic and compassionate to the needs of the research community. Jeff’s approach embraces the reality that every institution is unique, and what may work for one entity may not for another. As such, he invests much of his time in learning the downstream ramifications of any new proposed policy or process.

Jeff also serves as the Program Chair and Adjunct Professor at Emmanuel College where he teaches a regulatory compliance course in the classroom and online, and oversees the Research Administration Certification program. Nominated by his students, Jeff was the recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award in 2012. Jeff is also a frequent and well-reviewed presenter at national and regional research administration and compliance conferences on a wide range of topics from audits and enforcement actions to mitigating risks related to scientific misconduct. His prior experience includes serving as an Associate General Counsel at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he primarily addressed legal issues arising out of clinical research trials and regulatory compliance. He also advised on litigation issues, negotiated contracts and addressed patient care issues. Prior to that, Jeff practiced at a boutique health law firm assisting a variety of health care providers with their business, regulatory, contractual and litigation needs. The culmination of his experience that includes basic science and clinical research in addition to legal and regulatory compliance, provides Jeff a certain perspective that is appreciated by researchers and providers alike.

Jeff received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester, his law degree from the New England School of Law, and a Masters of Law degree from Loyola University Chicago. He is also a Certified Research Administrator and has served as a Mentor and Key Personnel on multiple NIH Biomedical/Biobehavioral Research Administration Development Awards.